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My Love

If I wrote you a symphony,
Just to say how much you mean to me (what would you do?)
If I told you you were beautiful

INTRODUCTION

I'm going to keep it plain and simple: the RU metagame right now is literally in the worst place it's ever been since the totally balanced Round 5. Nidoqueen ****ed up the metagame. Cresselia ****ed it up more, and quite frankly, both should be gone. But, well, the senate system doesn't work in a tier that lacks the playerbase to participate in it properly, although admittedly, I'm rather biased on that topic. Anyways, as I've mentioned, the two biggest problems that exist right now are Nidoqueen and Cresselia, and this team was built with the goal of completely exploiting the two of them to the maximum of their ability, because frankly, they're both broke, they both need to be banned, and neither's going to get the boot, and I hope to be able to influence that decision in some way. Anyhow, in terms of the success of this team, it peaked #1 as both Till I Collapse and Called me Superman at different points through the most recent RU suspect round, Molk hit the top of the leaderboard easily with it, and it is without a doubt the single most successful RU team I've used since the earliest stages of RU. It's had a pretty big impact on the metagame, and has been somewhat responsible for setting the standard semistall core that developed following Cresselia returning to the metagame.

Cresselia is an incredible asset to any sort of balanced or defensive team in the RU metagame. In fact, at this point, I'd be willing to say that Cresselia is arguably a superior force in the metagame to Genesect in RU - if you're running any sort of balanced or defensive team and not using Cresselia, then you should be, and if you're not, then your team is inferior to one that is. It's that good. Cresselia is capable of walling pretty much every significant non Bug/Dark-type threat in the metagame, including even behemoths such as Archeops and Entei, who fail even to 2HKO Cressy, while I can just sit behind the gargantuan defense and Paralyze things so that Nidoqueen can clean up later on. The level of support that Cresselia provides for the team is phenomenal, being easily the best defensive pivot in the tier, due to an immunity to Spikes and Toxic Spikes, as well as as an immunity to Ground moves and ability to switch into and Paralyze almost all of the major threats to my team. Finally, Cresselia is capable of single handedly beating almost every other Psychic-type Calm Mind user. Due to her astounding defense, taking +6 Psyshocks from Uxie and Mesprit is barely even an issue, even from more offensively inclined ones, while defensive boosters such as Cosmic Power Sigilyph don't have a shot in hell of breaking through Cresselia.

Cresselia's greatest attribute, however, is in her ability to sweep lategame without fail provided I take out all Psychic-immune Pokemon and exceptionally bulky and strong Steel-types such as Escavelier. Since my team is quite adept at this due to a combination of entry hazards and offensive pressure from Nidoqueen, a situation where Cresselia cleans up weakened teams lategame is quite easy to establish. Against more defensively inclined teams, it's a fairly easy matter to switch Cresselia in on a Thunder Wave directed towards another member of my team, and then cleanly sweep as a last mon. This is especially helpful against most forms of stall (although admittedly, the vast majority of stall teams out there suffer heavily against Nidoqueen backed by paralysis support). Anyways, Cresselia is without a doubt a key member of this team's functionality.

Nidoqueen has skewed the RU metagame from the moment it entered the tier, both for the worse and the better. It made certain stall teams that were capable of single-handedly walling every single thing in the metagame impossible to succeed. To some extent, it still does this - this team has very few problems handling stall, and Nidoqueen is without a doubt the source of this. Anyhow, Nidoqueen's main use on this team is to clean up everything in lategame situations, and it does that beautifully. Entry hazards and paralysis support combine in a beautiful blend that allows for Nidoqueen to break through pretty much every single threat in the RU metagame, while also breaking down pretty much every significant wall, with hardly a single exception (Focus Blast lets Nidoqueen beat Cryogonal and Clefable, and even, when backed by hazards, Munchlax). Again, a very important driving force in the team.

Nidoqueen's got a rather strange EVspread, adapted slightly from the standard 252SpA/252Spe spread given to most offensive Nidoqueen. Extra speed lets Nidoqueen always outrun max Speed +Spe nature base 55s, most notably Crawdaunt and Bouffalant, both of which (although especially the latter) can prove rather difficult for the team to play around, as if either of them sets up, I can be at a loss to successfully combat them. The extra bulk means that fast spiker Qwilfish and bulkier Druddigon are incapable of OHKOing Nidoqueen with Waterfall and Earthquake respectively, and in general make Nidoqueen much harder to wear down than when it uses a faster spread. Admittedly, I lose the opportunity to speed tie with opposing Nidoqueen, but with the consistency of the team, I'm very rarely placed in situations where I would have to rely on speed ties to win games. Focus Blast, as mentioned, is used over the more customary Fire Blast for the sake of breaking through Cryogonal and Clefable, while Ice Beam/Thunderbolt are the coverage moves of choice, rather than one of those two and Sludge Wave, as both are invaluable in breaking through common walls.

Qwilfish provides three things for this team. First and foremost, it lays Spikes, which are essential to whittling through opposing teams and eventually sweeping through everything between Nidoqueen and Cresselia. The second major thing that Qwilfish provides for the team is Intimidate, which makes it crucial to have as an initial switch-in to threats such as Entei, Escavelier, and Feraligatr. Finally, the third and arguably most important thing that Qwilfish does for the team is it beats Smeargle, which has been another Pokemon with significant influence on the RU metagame. Its ability to effectively remove a Pokemon from the game while setting a bare minimum of two layers of entry hazards makes it one of the most threatening Pokemon to all defensively oriented teams. Qwilfish, however, outspeeds the little artist to the punch, Taunting it before setting up hazards of its own. Avoiding two layers of entry hazards being set up against my team from the first turns of the game is crucial, and even more important is avoiding Spore, which effectively removes a Pokemon from the game for a long enough period of time to be taken advantage of by the myriad of dangerous threats in the tier.

As mentioned, I run enough speed on Qwilfish to beat Smeargle, which incidentally also outruns the mighty Nidoqueen, who's handily KO'd by Waterfall on the second switch-in with a layer of Spikes and Rocks in play. Providing fast Taunts and Thunder Waves is also really important to the success of the team, as Qwilfish is able to stop quite a few Pokemon in their tracks, many of which attempt to set up against (and would be successful in setting up versus!) the slower and more defensive versions of Qwilfish seen in most balance and stall oriented teams. Sadly, the lack of Poison Jab leaves me somewhat weak against SubDD Crawdaunt, although my team offers very few options for it to set up (only Cresselia really) and it's relatively easy to handle through intelligent play. Finally, Spikes are, of course, the bane of a number of threats in RU, and Qwilfish is, in my opinion, one of the most effective defensive spikers in the tier, and thus fits perfectly onto the team.

Rhydon is a really amazing Pokemon, and the fact that it isn't used more than it is astounds me, to be honest. This little guy is capable of taking neutral and even super-effective hits from nearly all of the major physical attackers in RU. It even checks things like Archeops and Escavelier, both of which can pose major problems for the team if given free turns. In fact, between Qwilfish Rhydon and Cresselia, almost every single physical attacker in the tier can be neutralized with ease. In addition, Rhydon is also the team's primary phaser, handling a number of boosting attackers that could otherwise be quite problematic to handle otherwise. Rhydon also provides the ever important Stealth Rock, even more significant with things like Moltres being able to power through quite a bit of the team. Finally, Rhydon also lures in the premier spinner of the tier - Kabutops, expecting to force Rhydon out with the threat of 4x Super Effective Aqua Jets and Waterfalls, but fails to even 2HKO with Aqua Jet, or OHKO with Waterfall, allowing Rhydon to easily dispatch it, removing one of the greatest threats to the team.

Rhydon's Defense EVs are tailored very precisely, allowing it to always survive Jolly Absol +2 Superpowers after Stealth Rock, and respond back by KOing with Earthquake. 44 Speed lets Rhydon outrun minimum Speed Crustle, possibly KOing it through Sturdy with Rock Blast. Finally, the remaining EVs are pumped into Attack, letting Rhydon make some use out of its often forgotten base 130 Attack stat. Earthquake is pretty much the best STAB move in the game (eat your heart out, Scald) and Rock Blast complements it very nicely, letting Rhydon beat out lead Aerodactyl, KO a variety of mons through Sturdy, and break Substitutes of things such as Sceptile that attempt to set up against Rhydon. Roar is necessary in Rhydon's final moveslot in order to handle boosting sweepers that can be problematic for the team, and is in general useful in weakening defensive cores for Nidoqueen to inevitably break through by the end of the game.

Misdreavus is, of course, the obligatory Ghost, and is, in my opinion, the single best spinblocker currently available in the tier. Unlike Pokemon such as Dusknoir and Golurk, the former of which gets easily worn down and statused incredibly easily, while the latter loses to literally every single spinner in the tier except for Sandslash, Misdreavus is actually capable of preventing almost every spinner other than Kabutops from spinning. Misdreavus also has the added benefit of checking several major threats to this team, such as opposing Nidoqueen and specially offensive Sceptile. Misdreavus also lets well played Smeargles not be quite as damaging as they could be, thanks to Heal Bell, and is an adequate switch-in to a number of Pokemon thanks to its useful resistances and Ground immunity.

A ton of Special Defense is pretty much necessary, as Misdreavus's main usefulness comes in its ability to block Cryogonal (who's easily the second best spinner in the tier) from Spinning, while also beating Special Attackers such as Sceptile. Heal Bell is really nifty for the team, since it lets me not get messed up by weird things carrying Toxic that manage to hit Cressy, or the ever dreaded Scald Burns (seriously Scald sucks). 92 Speed lets me outrun Crawdaunt, which is a real pain to play against. WoW somewhat conflicts with all the TWavers on the team, but burning stuff like SubBU Gallade is really helpful, and lets various members of my team set up against them with little trouble. Pain Split allows Misdreavus to single handedly beat Nidoqueen and non-substitute Sceptile, should the need ever arise, although doing so requires near pinpoint prediction and isn't an ideal situation, obviously. Shadow Ball is there so that Misdreavus is actually capable of damaging some spinners, while not being easily Taunted or free passing for Wishpassers.

Clefable provides a useful check to many of the Special Attackers in the tier (of which there are undeniably plenty), and more importantly provides Wish support for the team. Clefable also serves as a status sponge throughout most games, absorbing Toxics and Will O Wisps directed at Cresselia, Rhydon, and Nidoqueen, and retaliating back by threatening to heal them back to full with a Wish. Due to the team's lack of a Rapid Spinner, it's possible to break it down via entry hazards from well played Spikes Offense (stall suffers more). Clefable is the answer to this, supporting all the weakened team members, and, thanks to the astounding bulk of Rhydon and Cresselia, as well as Qwilfish's Intimidate, easily healing them back up mid and lategame.

Clefable's moveset is pretty much non-negotiable. Wish is one of the best moves out there, and Clefable's arguably the best Wishpasser in the tier, and Softboiled is the superior option over Protect as it can allow Clefable to have additional PP for a recovery move in longer games, while also making Fable somewhat more difficult to predict around as easily as it would be with Wish/Protect. Ice Beam hits Lilligant, Nidoqueen, and Sceptile primarily, while Thunderbolt lets Clefable beat out SubDD Crawdaunt that try and set up against her. Maxing Special Defense is a sad necessity with threats such as Magmortar and Typhlosion, both of which can be rather difficult for this team to combat, walking around. With that being said, we're at the close.

Concluding

I'm somewhat happy to have returned to playing this wonderful tier, although I admit to being somewhat disappointed by the state of the metagame. Regardless, I had a lot of fun messing around with this team this suspect round, and I'm very happy to have had the chance to use this team to its fullest potential. I've also gotta thank Pocket, Silentverse, and Honko for their help with the team, Pocket for suggesting a number of tidbits of advice that would have made the team impossible to succeed with otherwise, Silentverse for playing relentlessly against the team and offering huge amounts of help in its early stages, and Honko because he'd ***** about it if I didn't mention him here <3. With that being said, it was really fun putting this team to use, and I'm happy about its peak and its overall success.

Ain't gotta do nothing crazy
See, all I want you to do is be my love

see: me posting a team on serebii LOL man
team's bw ru, and if you couldn't tell you probably shouldn't be rating it anyways xoxoxoxo

I also don't know much about RU, but I really want to post in this great RMT :3

After taking several looks, I found the team being weak to Ground, with Cresselia and Misdreavus immune to it, but 3 weak to it though.

Bulk Up Gallade with Psycho Cut, can be a major threat. Psycho Cut deals with Nidoqueen and Qwilfish, Night Slash/Shadow Sneak for Cresselia and Misdreavus, and finally, Drain Punch for Rhydon and Clefable. An SD variant with the same moves, but CC > DP could be even more dangerous, so don't have it set up!

That's all I can say, hope it's helpful to you

Goodbye Serebiiforums, I will not visit you anymore. I want to be free~